André Álvares de Almada

André Álvares de Almada (fl. 16th and 17th centuries) was a Cape Verdean writer, trader and explorer of mestiço (mixed) descent. He was one of the first recorded Cape Verdean writers in Cape Verdean history, in 1598, he was knighted as a Knight of the Order of Christ.

At the end of the 16th century, captain André Álvares de Almada is thought to had a mother of mixed descent, he was the son of captain Ciprião Álvares de Almada "noble of one of the main islands".

In 1578, he met with the Mali gold traders along the Gambia River.

He written several historical annals of the Portuguese expansion, after exploring the interior of Guinea (the area today being largely now known as Guinea-Bissau), the The Short Treatise of the Rivers of Guinea of Cape Verde between the Senegal River and Baixos de Santa Ana and All the Black Nations on the Coast and its Clothing, Arms, Weapons and Wars in 1594. It was later edited in 1733 and later edited by Diogo Köpke in 1841. The work was about the important for the studies of the entire area between the Senegal River and Sierra Leone.

The treatise was a classic for the knowledge of history of the regions of African peoples in West Africa. The Treaty between the Rivers of Guinea of Cape Verde between the Senegal River and Baixos de Santa Ana and All the Black Nations on the Coast and its Clothing, Arms, Weapons and Wars.

The text is a historic source characterizes with a narrative. This provides a rich material for consideration.